can someone explain me the "in the zone" meaning?

karyabc

hi! i did a post a couple of days ago about my routine in the gym and the calories that i burn, and pretty much everyone advise me to get a HRM which i did, i got a polat FT4 and use it today, what i got is that when i did the elliptical for 45 mins it says i burned 508 Cal, with a heart rate average of 173( i was shock, never thought that much calories i was burning using the elliptical) then i did for 20 mins the stationary bike and it says 194 Cal with a hear rate average of 150.

but where i'm confuse is that while doing the elliptical i was only "in the zone" for 4 mins, and when i did the stationary bike i was in the zone the whole 20 mins.

im 290 lbs, 5'5, female and with that data i see that HRM says that my zone is from 125-164.
So what that zone is suppose to mean, that using the stationary bike is better although i find so much easier and less demanding than the elliptical?
i was searching online and got confuse some people talk about a fitness zone and a fat burning zone,

Txs in advance

Sam_I_Am77

The training zones are kind of misleading. Zone-1 is more aerobic and uses more fat as a fuel source, Zone-2 adds more anerobic (more ATP_PC consumption) and Zone-3 is basically all anerobic. The thought of the zones is that 1 uses more fat, 2 uses fat and carbs, and 3 uses pretty much carbs, so because zone 1 utilizes more fat it's better for fat loss right? That's not actually true. Zone 1 might use more fat but Zones 2 and 3 burn more overall calories which is more important for losing weight.

Ideally you should probably vary your training. One day spend 20 to 30 min's in Zone 1, then one day do like 3-min in zone-2, 3-min in zone 1, and flip-flop for 20-30 min's. Once your work capacity has improved you can do something like 1-min in zone 3, 3-min's in zone 2, 3-min in zone 1 and rinse-and repeat for time. But it all depends on what your exercise goals are (don't say fat loss - nutrition goal) and what you enjoy doing.

socalkay

Yeah, what Sam said. I work out on a stationary bike at home and use the concept to figure a heart rate range for my workouts so I push myself to get my heart rate up.

The Calculation:
"To figure your fat-burning target heart rate zone, you first need to estimate your maximum heart rate, or MHR. If you're male, subtract your age from 220 to estimate your MHR. If you're female, subtract your age from 226. For example, a 40-year-old man's MHR would be 180 beats per minute. Since the fat-burning target heart rate zone is 60 to 70 percent of MHR, he would aim for a heart rate of 108 to 126 beats per minute."

http://www.livestrong.com/article/253114-fat-burning-heart-rate-zone-target-heart-rate/

haildodger

Another good read related to the topic: builtlean.com Fat burning zone myth

Sam seemed to hit all the major points though.

karyabc

HaiLDodger wrote: »

Another good read related to the topic: builtlean.com Fat burning zone myth

Sam seemed to hit all the major points though.

omg tx u so much, amazing article !

karyabc

Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »

The training zones are kind of misleading. Zone-1 is more aerobic and uses more fat as a fuel source, Zone-2 adds more anerobic (more ATP_PC consumption) and Zone-3 is basically all anerobic. The thought of the zones is that 1 uses more fat, 2 uses fat and carbs, and 3 uses pretty much carbs, so because zone 1 utilizes more fat it's better for fat loss right? That's not actually true. Zone 1 might use more fat but Zones 2 and 3 burn more overall calories which is more important for losing weight.

Ideally you should probably vary your training. One day spend 20 to 30 min's in Zone 1, then one day do like 3-min in zone-2, 3-min in zone 1, and flip-flop for 20-30 min's. Once your work capacity has improved you can do something like 1-min in zone 3, 3-min's in zone 2, 3-min in zone 1 and rinse-and repeat for time. But it all depends on what your exercise goals are (don't say fat loss - nutrition goal) and what you enjoy doing.

nice! i'll try my best to do that!

SnuggleSmacks

From what I've read, current science has debunked the whole "zone" thing as a myth. Just worry about getting your heart rate up and keeping it up.

Sam_I_Am77

SnuggleSmacks wrote: »

From what I've read, current science has debunked the whole "zone" thing as a myth. Just worry about getting your heart rate up and keeping it up.

No, training zones are real and very heavily used especially when training athletes. The "myth"' is that training zone 1 is best for fat loss is the myth.